The Reasons We Went Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to work covertly to reveal a organization behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the criminals are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and sought to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, attempting to buy and run a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how simple it is for a person in these conditions to set up and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could remove official sanctions of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't characterize Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The journalists admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame hostilities.

But Ali states that the unauthorized labor "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali explains he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this especially affected him when he realized that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Signs and flags could be seen at the rally, displaying "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and say it has sparked strong frustration for certain individuals. One social media message they observed stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply troubled about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't adequate to maintain a dignified existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he feels numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to work in the illegal market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "We are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for people to migrate to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a third taking over 12 months, according to official figures from the spring this current year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he informed the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed laboring in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all of their savings to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost everything."

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]